Tourism and Sustainable Economic Development

It traces the development of the latest trends for the Study of the development of sustainable tourism inUkraine, as well as the conditions and means of effective inclusion ofUkrainein the international tourism market on the basis of the concept of sustainable tourism. Analysis of research areas and approaches to the study of sustainable tourism development inUkraine. The basic perspective of Ukrainian scientific community for the development and importance of tourism inUkraine. InUkraine, the issue of sustainable development is discussed since1992. Asignificant scientific achievements that laid the basis for the new benchmark of the country on the basis of a post-industrial economy. The issue of the nature and principles of the main factors of melting of the tourism industry dedicated to the research of V. G Gerasimenko, O. Dobrovolsky, G. A Zayachkovskoyi, G. V. Kazachkovska, A. Litvinova, N. D. Sviridova, D. I. Ostap'yuk, T. I. Tkachenko et al. Scientific basis of the national strategy forUkraine's transition to sustainable development principles are based on the peculiar state of geopolitical, geographical, demographic, socioeconomic, and environmental features. For the development of tourism industry ofUkraineon the basis of sustainable tourism as there is a need to develop new and innovative approaches.One of the main research areas among Ukrainian scientists was to develop the concept of sustainable tourism development. Under the concept of sustainable tourism development means a system of ideas that defines a common plan of development policy area. A. V. Litvinova main elements of the concept of sustainable tourism development in Ukraine considers the methods and tools of government regulation that need to be harmonized with indicators of sustainable tourism. Platform for developing a sustainable production is a tourism product , sustainable lifestyle of local communities and sustainable consumption. And according N. D. Sviridova , this concept must take into account all the strategic priorities and objectives of tourism development are important areas and facilities set goals. The concept should be fully reflective of the position of the region on the strategy of tourism development in the long term and include specific measures for its implementation. GV Kazachkovska in turn believes that the sustainable development of tourism and resort areas is possible when there is a balance between the preservation of natural, historical and cultural resources, economic interests, social needs and development of tourism, and provided favorable conditions for the formation of high-quality national tourist product. Among the fundamental work on the development of sustainable tourism inUkraineshould provide monograph T.I. Tkachenko. The book on a wide source base covers theoretical, methodological and applied problems of tourism development on the basis of dialectical, system and functional approaches. The necessity of consideration of tourism as a complex system in the unity of the social, economic and environmental components, the genesis of which is further based on the concept of sustainability. Committed to sustainable development of the country and its regions imposes a set of requirements to the existing quality of the environment and address the problem of interaction between nature and society. The concept of sustainable development, including the region determines the relevance of such a system that would ensure a balanced model of relations between environment, different types of economic activities and socio- economic interests of different groups. Therefore, a number of studies approaches to strategy development recreational region considering the environmental component . This study G.M. Aleinikova, N .M. Wetrovoj, O. Hulych et al. Of great importance for the development of sustainable tourism has an active policy. This includes support and development of tourism industry, the development of tourism infrastructure , creating conditions for increasing the attractiveness of regions for foreign and domestic tourists , improving the quality of tourism services , ensuring their complexity. Investigation of the role of government in regulating the tourism industry is the subject of research by many local scientists. Key aspects of the formation and functioning of state regulation of the tourism industry, the development and improvement of its study areas reflected in the scientific works of local scientists such as A. V. Vinogradov, L. Donchenko, K.V. Zhadko, S. G. Zakharov, A. H. Ilyashenko, Y. Kozlovsky, O. Melnichenko, N. I. Ostap'yuk and others. Thus we can note that recently in Ukrainian society considered all possible implementation strategies for sustainable tourism development. In particular, reveals strategic goals of sustainable development businesses in the tourism sector. The economic and social feasibility of ecotourism technologies for sustainable development of the tourism industry, geographic grounded approach to recreation and tourism of nature, the conceptual foundations of a market mechanism for managing recreational potential. Almost all scientists agree that the sustainable development of tourism inUkrainemust improve the use of resources, training of personnel in the tourism industry, transport infrastructure, reduce seasonality and spatial disparity in the distribution of tourists increase the financial performance of the tourism industry, to give a significant attention to the relationship between environmental management and sustainable tourism, etc.

There is a synergistic potential between heritage and tourism which can offer a type of special interest tourism. However, despite the potential, it also brings out conflicts that result in negative socio-cultural impacts. Therefore, sustainability issues should be considered in developing heritage tourism. There are three dimensions incorporate in Sustainable Development, which are environment, economic, and social. As sustainable tourism was derived from sustainable development, thus the three dimensions of sustainable development are also applied in sustainable tourism development, especially in sustainable heritage tourism. Generally, the relationships between the three aspects of sustainable development are assumed to be compatible and mutually supportive. However, among the three dimensions of sustainable development, social sustainability is the least developed and often is proposed in relation to ecological or economic sustainability. There have been efforts to address and incorporate the social dimension of sustainability into standard setters, planners, and practitioners in many diverse areas such as forest certification, organic agriculture, conventional agriculture, urban and regional planning, corporate social and environmental management, reporting, and responsibility and fair-trade certification. However, there are still few studies of the social dimension in tourism development. To achieve sustainable tourism development, we cannot neglect the social dimension and only focuses on the economic and environmental dimensions. Social sustainability is not absolute or constant which has to be considered as a dynamic concept, which will change over time in a place. The purpose of this study exploring the key aspects of sustainable tourism development social dimension which is linked to theoretical and on how we should define and understand the fluid concept of the social dimension in tourism sustainability that can also be applied in heritage tourism. This research is using a systematic literature review to identify social dimension aspects or themes of sustainable development, sustainable tourism development, and sustainable heritage tourism. The preliminary findings show that there are few studies of the social dimension of sustainable tourism development. Therefore, it is rather difficult to obtain related articles of the social dimension, especially in the tourism subject fields. To this point, 160 works of literature were obtained and after screening, assessing, and selecting against the criteria for eligibility, there were 19 pieces of literature selected. Selected literature was reviewed to explore how the social dimension aspect in sustainable development debates is variously understood and how it constructs a social pillar. This research compiles a cross-disciplinary major theoretical concept from sustainable development, sustainable tourism development, heritage tourism, political sociology, economic theory, social theory, governance, and urban development to build a new multi-dimensional inquiry into the subject of social sustainability. Thus, this research gives a comprehension of the aspects of social sustainability which contributes to the improvement of the fluid concept of social tourism sustainability, especially in heritage tourism.

This study measures the implementation process for the implementation of sustainable tourism, which generally aims to maintain ecological tourism destinations in a long time, getting feasibility economically, ethically and socially equitable for local communities.The Ministry of Tourism in Act No. 10 of 2009 explicitly pouring ideas and support in the development of sustainable tourism that is "necessary efforts to increase tourism's contribution to economic development, public welfare, strengthening of social values and culture, and environmental protection.In accordance with the definition of sustainable tourism development as stated in the Charter for Sustainable Tourism (1995) is, supported development of ecologically well as economically viable, ethically and socially equitable for society.The tourism sector has not contributed real and direct the economy of local communities in tourism destinations.The development of tourism in Indonesia should be able to increase the quality of life (particularly local), to create added value and strengthen the local culture and social values and local wisdom.The assessment will look at the main aspects that should be considered in the development of sustainable tourism.Phasing and assessment measures and methods that will be pursued are: to prepare the standards and criteria for sustainable tourism development that is intended to be applicable at the destination.This study will generally see an outline of the three phases of activity in the development of sustainable tourism which is done through the process of STD, STO and STC.This study will limit the scope of stages Sustainable Tourism Observatory (STO) to get to the Sustainable Tourism Certification (STC).Sustainable Tourism Development (STD) in the study aims to maintain ecological tourism destinations in a long time, getting feasibility economically, ethically and socially equitable for local communities as well as having an output convergence meeting, coordination meetings and research meeting in these destinations.Sustainable Tourism Observatory (STO), is an activity that is conducted with the cooperation between the ministries of tourism, local governments and higher education area that aims to provide recommendations for the development of sustainable tourism, both the central government, local governments, local communities and other stakeholders , The focus of this study is the implementation of the Sustainable Tourism Observatory (STO) that uses the basics of votes according to the criteria of sustainable tourism for destinations.Whatever method of determining the assessment criteria consist of several parts, namely: a) sustainable management of effective management; b) maximize the economic benefits to the local community and minimize negative impacts; c) maximize the benefits to the community, visitors, and culture; minimize the negative impacts; d) to maximize the benefits to the environment and minimize negative impacts.This methodology explicitly used to design, assess, monitor, evaluate and mitigate and understand the paradigm framework of thinking in the development of sustainable tourism were planned and carried out at tourism destinations.The final results of this study provide recommendations after the criteria are met by the development of sustainable tourism for tourist destinations.The recommendations provide a reference methodological and recommendations in the field of tourism sustainability.Support capacity building on tourism stakeholders to foster participation / public participation, policy trends and the impact of tourism through the development of sustainable tourism as a standard and criteria for Sustainable Tourism Observatory (STO) that can be applied in Indonesia.The application emphasizes the principles of sustainability, which refers to aspects of environmental, economic and socio-cultural development of tourism, and an appropriate balance must be established between these three dimensions to guarantee long -term sustainability.

The Success of Rural Community-Based Tourism Development from the Perspective of the Local Community (Case Study: Asiab-Sar Village, Behshahr County)

Tourism is a happy industry related to people's livelihood. Since the 21st century, tourism, as the main pillar industry of world cultural exchanges, has attracted the attention of governments. The sustainable development of tourism should take social, economic and environmental factors into consideration, and develop tourism in a planned and targeted way from the overall situation. The proportion of Chinese tourists has been increasing, accounting for 48.86% of the total world tourists in 2019. China's tourism industry is developing rapidly, and in some areas the demand exceeds the supply. The concept of sustainable tourism development aims to promote the coordinated development of tourism ecological balance and economic growth, which has been paid more and more attention in China. Guilin is a typical tourist city. However, Guilin's tourism industry has some problems, such as low quality of scenic spot construction, low efficiency of tourism resource development, sick ecological environment, and insufficient innovation, which restrict the sustainable development of Guilin's tourism industry. This study takes Guilin as the research object, analyzes the development of tourism, and finds the path to achieve sustainable development of tourism, so that Guilin tourism can be promoted in tourism cities as a tourism development paradigm. Using the improved DPSIR model, the Driving Force, Pressure, State, Impact and Response subsystems are introduced to supplement the definition of sustainable development of tourism. Based on the DPSIR framework, this study collected 28 factors related to Guilin's tourism development and divided them into three categories: economic, social and ecological environment. Through correlation analysis and factor analysis, this paper summarizes the environmental, economic and social effects of Guilin tourism in the past ten years. These indicators are used to calculate the secondary indicators of the DPSIR framework. The entropy weight method is used to determine the weight of each index for the development of Guilin tourism, and the key indicators affecting Guilin tourism are determined. At the same time, TOPSIS method is applied to analyze the sustainable development of Guilin tourism. Through the weight analysis of the secondary indicators, we know that the GDP growth rate, local fiscal revenue growth rate and urbanization rate are the main driving factors, and the level of local social and economic development has an important impact on the sustainable development of tourism. The Chinese government advocated farmers to enter cities in 2009 and 19, and the Urbanization rate is the key indicator for the local government to assess, Therefore, the urbanization rate is also a very important driving force indicator for the local government. Among the pressure indicators, air and water pollution and passenger turnover have always been the main sources of pressure in the local area. The local government should pay more attention to the three wastes pollution to improve the environmental quality of the local city. Among the state indicators, Tourism revenue and Tourism reception have the highest weight, while Number of star hotels have the lowest weight. The number of tourists and tourism income are important state indicators. Among the impact indicators, Guilin's tourism industry has a great impact on the local society and economy. Tourism income per capital and Per capital tourism revenue as a percentage of GDP per capital account for the largest proportion. Among the response indicators, the weights of Number of A-level scenic spots and Total area of park scenic spots are the largest. The government's investment in scenic spots and Guilin's urban environment plays an important role in improving local tourism. Calculated by TOPSIS, from 2009 to 2012, the tourism development of Guilin was in the preparation stage for sustainable development; from 2013 to 2017, the tourism development of Guilin entered the preliminary sustainable development stage. In the development stage, in 2017, Guilin's tourism industry entered a stage of basic sustainable development. Subsequently, this study put forward some suggestions for the further sustainable development of Guilin's tourism industry.

The article investigates the theoretical and methodological principles and practical aspects of regional policy of sustainable tourism development. It is noted that despite the large number of scientific studies, the problems of regional policy of sustainable tourism development taking into account the current situation in some regions, in particular in the Zaporizhzhia region, remain relevant and require further research and additional scientific and practical achievements. The scientific definition of "regional policy", "sustainable development" and "sustainable tourism" has been clarified. It is emphasized that regional policy is an integral part of public policy, which is aimed at organizing the national space in accordance with the chosen development strategy. Sustainable development is an important factor in the development of tourism, which meets the needs of the present, but does not jeopardize the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. It is proposed to monitor the main indicators for assessing the sustainable development of tourism in the region: volumes and directions of tourist flows; economic efficiency of tourism; efficiency of tourist activity at the level of enterprises of the tourist sphere; assessment of the state of tourist infrastructure. Indicators of sustainable tourism development in the Zaporizhia region are considered and analyzed. The main trends in tourism development in the Zaporizhzhia region are identified. The dynamics of the main indicators of tourism activity within the region was typical for Ukraine. According to state statistics, the dynamics of tourism in the Zaporizhzhia region over the past two years, unfortunately, is negative, which is most likely due to the epidemiological situation in the country and the world. The necessity to take into account first of all the regional specifics of the territories in the implementation of the policy of sustainable tourism development in the regions is substantiated. It is noted that in the Zaporizhzhia region there are important prerequisites to enter the most developed in terms of tourism in Ukraine and Europe. Zaporizhzhia region has a favorable geopolitical location, comfortable microclimatic conditions, diverse landscape, unique flora and fauna, historical and cultural heritage, sufficient natural and health resources. The orientation of the regional policy of tourism development of Zaporizhia region is highlighted. The task of ensuring sustainable development is indicated. The primary task of forming a regional policy of sustainable tourism development should be to consolidate the efforts of all executive bodies to create favorable conditions for improving the quality of tourism services to the level of international standards, tourism and general infrastructure of the region. Ultimately, the sustainable development of tourism leads to the sustainable development of the entire territory, while protecting nature, culture, social and economic development.

Tourism has emerged as one of the strategic instruments and policy tools for community and regional development in Southern Africa (Rogerson, 2007 in Saarinen, et al. 2009). Gradually, tourism is rotating to the political centre stage as an instrument of social and economic empowerment (Binns & Nel, 2002). Consequently, local government authorities have instituted initiatives for promoting tourism as a sustainable economic driver in their municipalities. Sustainable rural tourism development is widely supported because it does not threaten the integrity of the ecological and social systems upon which communities and societies are dependent. Marien & Pizam in Wahab & Pigram (2004:165) argue that since communities are constantly changing, like the nature of tourism, evaluating community’s sensitivity and associated impacts should not be regarded as an temporary event but as an ongoing process. This study focuses on the strategic development of sustainable rural tourism in the rural areas of KwaZulu-Natal, more specifically Ntambanana Municipality. The objectives of the study were as follows: (a) To identify natural and sociocultural resources that can be used for rural tourism development. (b) To assess the participation level of local communities in tourism development. (c) To establish the extent to which the tourism policies and strategies are implemented. (d) To identify the capacity of the local communities to develop tourism products. (e) To reveal the challenges that impede sustainable rural tourism development. Data from a sample size of 320 were collected and analysed using the SPSS programme. The findings of the study indicated that there is potential for natural, cultural and heritage tourism due to the existence of a variety of related resources. The findings, however, indicated that local people are not aware of these resources hence the lack of participation in tourism development. Various strategies were suggested for raising social awareness and the promotion of cultural and heritage resources in the rural area. Keywords: Tourism, rural tourism, sustainable tourism development, socio-cultural resources.

PurposeCommunity arts practice gives voice to a younger generation, who must be studied as part of the development process from commencement, to accomplish building sustainable destination development in the direction of future prosperity for the rural community.Design/methodology/approachThis paper challenges a relatively weak critical practice of the community-based tourism (CBT) by introducing community arts methodologies as a research approach in the context of tourism, the opportunity is created to give voice to a younger generation that must also be included in the development aims of the CBT to achieve sustainable community tourism development.FindingsThe CBT aims to support access to quality participation in the development process. However, investment in education and building tourism entrepreneurs is not inclusive of the future generations beyond the original generation. Consideration of the desires and imaginations of the future generations must be part of the CBT project for tourism development sustainability. Building awareness of the fragility and value of tourist attractions and resources, in a younger generation that never experienced the original attractions of the traditional village, is critical to achieving the objectives of the CBT.Research limitations/implicationsThe paper is not yet attempting to examine the empirical data of this research. Rather, it challenges current CBT research processes as having a narrow reach into a community.Practical implicationsTourism developers and local communities should include an understanding of what directions and what opportunities the next and future generations will have to continue sustainable development. Including children’s imaginations into a community’s tourism development plans will benefit awareness of the present context and assist locals in forecasting the next stage of village development. The present tourism planners would then have a holistic vision for a design strategy sustaining rural livelihoods that acknowledge the limits of nature-based resources and cultural resources.Social implicationsCommunity arts research offers the possibility of inclusive participation of community members. Arts methodology attempts to articulate ideas in visual form, for the aim of discussion, reflection and realization of the desires and concerns of the community in terms of lifestyle, environment and cultural heritage, in preparation for the future generation taking control of tourism development. The process aims to impact future decisions effecting the course of tourism development in rural Thailand.Originality/valueThe paper discusses the potential contribution of community arts practice as a complementary tool by taking into account different aspects of sustainable tourism into CBT concept. The paper evaluates what has been missing in advancing our understanding of sustainable rural tourism development in Thailand. It fills the gaps with a methodological approach that gives voice to the local community. The purpose of this paper is to rethinking the ideology and approach of CBT to be inclusive of all demographics of society for the goal of achieving sustainable tourism and sustainable community development in Thailand context.

Contents: Preface Narrow escapes: pathways to sustainable local cultural tourism, Luigi Fusco Girard and Peter Nijkamp. Part I Tourism Development as a Sustainable Strategy: Tourism, heritage and cultural sustainability: 3 'golden rules', David Throsby Tourism and development: towards sustainable outcomes, Geoffrey Wall Sustainable development and tourism: opportunities and threats to cultural heritage from tourism, Harry Coccossis Valuing urban cultural heritage, Peter Nijkamp and Patrizia Riganti. Part II Policies on Sustainable Tourism and Cultural Resources: Cultural heritage, local resources and sustainable tourism:towards an operational framework for policy and planning, Christian Ost Juridical and political tools for a sustainable development of tourism: present context and future perspectives, Guiliana Di Fiore Cultural heritage, sustainable tourism and economic development: a proposal for Southern Italy, Antonio Saturnino Sustainable tourism, renewable energy and transportation, Maria Giaoutzi, Christos Dionelis and Anastasia Stratigea. Part III Case Studies: Local government and networking trends supporting sustainable tourism: some empirical evidence, Francesco Polese Cultural tourism, sustainability and regional development: experiences from Romania, Daniela L. Constantin and Constantin Mitrut Tourism sustainability and economic efficiency: a statistical analysis of Italian provinces, Maria Francesca Cracolici, Miranda Cuffaro and Peter Nijkamp Valorisation strategies for archaeological sites and settings of environmental value: lessons from the Adriatic coast, Donatella Cialdea Utility and visitor preferences for attributes of art galleries, Ken Willis and Naomi Kinghorn. Part IV New Departures for Evaluation: Tourism, cultural heritage and strategic evaluations: towards integrated approaches, Luigi Fusco Girard and Francesca Torrieri Restoring roadman's houses in Sardinia, Italy: a multicriteria decision support system for tourism plannin

Over the span of three decades, the development of rural tourism has substantially improved rural economies and the lives of rural residents; however, it has also negatively affected societies, cultures, and environments, which is not conducive to sustainable development. Motivated by the aim of meeting the Sustainable Development Goals, the balanced development of economic, social, cultural, and environmental factors in rural tourism can only be achieved by analyzing the current problems of rural tourism on the basis of an overall system. Therefore, this study developed an overall evaluation system for analyzing the sustainable development of rural tourism. This system contains an indicator framework for sustainable development of rural tourism and an analytical mechanism for an improvement strategy constructed using a modified DANP-mV model. In this study, the evaluation system was applied to the empirical case study of Yudong Village in China. The empirical case study results show that social sustainable development (D2) is not the first priority for improvement, although it exhibits the largest gap. Instead, environmental sustainable development (D4), which exhibits a smaller gap, should receive higher priority for improvement because it is the root cause of social sustainable development (D2). The overall improvement strategy for Yudong Village should follow this path: environmental sustainable development (D4) → social sustainable development (D2) → economic sustainable development (D1) → cultural sustainable development (D3). In addition to demonstrating the effectiveness of the rural tourism sustainable development evaluation system, the empirical case study also demonstrated that the system is capable of identifying the root causes of rural-tourism-related sustainability problems and contributing to the formulation of improvement strategies.

This chapter aims to encourage corporate social responsibility (CSR) and sustainable tourism development in global tourism, thus describing the theoretical and practical concept of CSR; CSR and corporate financial performance (CFP); the overview of sustainable tourism development; the significance of CSR in global tourism; the significance of sustainable tourism development in global tourism; sustainable tourism development and stakeholders; and sustainable tourism development and environmental situations. The accomplishment of CSR and sustainable tourism development is vital for tourism businesses that seek to serve suppliers and customers, increase business performance, strengthen competitiveness, and attain regular success in global tourism. Thus, it is necessary for tourism businesses to encourage their CSR and sustainable tourism development toward satisfying customers' needs. The chapter argues that encouraging CSR and sustainable tourism development has the potential to enhance organizational performance and gain sustainable competitive advantage in global tourism.

This chapter aims to encourage corporate social responsibility (CSR) and sustainable tourism development in global tourism, thus describing the theoretical and practical concept of CSR; CSR and corporate financial performance (CFP); the overview of sustainable tourism development; the significance of CSR in global tourism; the significance of sustainable tourism development in global tourism; sustainable tourism development and stakeholders; and sustainable tourism development and environmental situations. The accomplishment of CSR and sustainable tourism development is vital for tourism businesses that seek to serve suppliers and customers, increase business performance, strengthen competitiveness, and attain regular success in global tourism. Thus, it is necessary for tourism businesses to encourage their CSR and sustainable tourism development toward satisfying customers' needs. The chapter argues that encouraging CSR and sustainable tourism development has the potential to enhance organizational performance and gain sustainable competitive advantage in global tourism.

A conceptual paper published twenty years ago concluded that sustainable tourism development is an unviable objective. Specifically, it argued that environmentally sound tourism development (sustainable tourism) is essential; sustainable development through tourism, however, is unachievable. Despite continuing alignment between tourism and sustainable development in both academic and policy circles, not only have the intervening two decades proved this argument in practice to be correct, but also there is little evidence of a more sustainable tourism sector. This paper, therefore, returns to the theoretical relationship between tourism and sustainable development, considering more recent transformations in understandings of the concept of development as well as contemporary approaches to sustainable development. Highlighting the controversy surrounding the continuing adherence to economic growth in development policy in general and tourism development in particular, it discusses sustainable de-growth as an alternative approach to development and, in the context of increasing concerns over climate change, the specific implications for tourism.

The article observes the relevance and substantiates the need to raise the problem of tourism development in the countries of the Black Sea region (Turkey, Ukraine, the Russian Federation, Georgia, Romania and Bulgaria) on the basis of sustainability. Systematization of approaches to the definition of «sustainable development of tourism», «sustainable tourism» and «tourism constancy» has conditioned the elaboration of a sustainable tourism development model, the elements of which are the needs of tourists, tourism resources, tourism services, types of tourism, tourism activities, subjects - tourist, tourist enterprise, destinations and the state (management). It was determined that the achievement of sustainable tourism development in the country should be evaluated from the standpoint of meeting the needs of tourists and considering the factors such as security, sustainable tourism services, economic and environmental sustainability, socio-cultural sustainability, the country’s basic sustainaility and political and regulatory constancy. During the study, the needs of the tourist were identified (cognition, recognition and his acceptance of the cultural, historical, national heritage of the destination, the development of spiritual potential and self-development), which act as a driving force for the growth of demand for sustainable types of tourism. It was found that satisfying the physiological needs of a tourist, his staying in a safe environment, confirming his social, professional, family status is associated with mass tourism, and does not fully contribute to the achievement of sustainable development goals. It is determined that the development of tourism in the Black Sea countries is characterized by a high loading on tourist facilities and irregular tourist flows, the irrational use of natural resources, and the continuous expansion of infrastructure that allows only fragmentary observance of the principles of sustainable development . To assess the sustainability of tourism in the countries of the region, we used the author’s methodology for ranking the factors of the tourism sustainability index. Calculations demonstrated that the most important factors for tourists in the Black Sea region are the factor of safety, tourism services and the basic state of stability of the country, which is based on the level of food technology usage; the presence of harmful industries in the country; unemployment rate in the country; the importance of tradition in everyday life; international openness safety factors, tourist services and the basic condition of stability of the country. Environmental sustainability and a sociocultural strategy have a moderate impact. In the ranking of the countries of the Black Sea region according to the calculated tourism sustainability index, Georgia took the first place, and Ukraine received the lowest indicator. By the method of cluster analysis, the countries of the Black Sea region were combined into three clusters. The first cluster was formed by Turkey - a country that has a developed system of mass tourism and actively contributes to its reorientation continuously. The second cluster includes Bulgaria, Romania and Georgia, which combine the processes of active development of traditional and sustainable tourism. In the third cluster, which includes Russia and Ukraine, the development of tourism on the principles of sustainability practically does not occur.

The purpose of this study is to test the applicability of sustainable tourism theory within the sustainable community development framework. Starting with a review of literature on sustainable tourism and sustainable development, the study focuses on a project called “Achas Centre for Sustainable Community Development” (ACSCD). Based in the tourist hot-spot of Buea in the South West region of Cameroon, ACSCD operates on a theoretical framework designed to orchestrate development and shape the future of this mountainous (volcanic) city and its neighboring coastal city of Limbe. The research method employs the case study approach by exploring the conceptual base of this project that seeks to development tourism as a springboard for sustainable community development. The operating model of ACSCD reveals that the sustainable community development centre is complemented by the training centre “Achas Higher Institute of Sustainable Tourism, Hospitality and Business”. While the higher institute imparts the training that empowers community members with tourism and community development skills, the sustainable development centre channels these skills through identified focus areas into community development projects. The key finding of this study is that planning for the future and sustainable development of creative cities such as Buea, should be the outcome of both empowerment programs, the identification of essential development focus projects and the execution of such projects in the interest of sustainable community development. The significance of this study lies not only in its conceptualization of a new approach to sustainable community tourism development, but also its demonstration of the fact that sustainable community development is a result of both skills acquisition and the transmission of such skills into viable community development projects.